befriend wrote:how do we enjoy the sights of nature without liking coming up?

By noticing that the sights of nature change! spring to summer, summer to fall, fall to winter, etc.. All is anicca, dukkha, and anatta. Just like Ajahn Brahm put it: "Joy At Last To Know There Is No Happiness In The World"..

befriend wrote:how do we enjoy the sights of nature without liking coming up?

All beings subsist on nutriment, which is a nasty business.

Nature is beautiful, isn't it?

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]

The Buddhist Attitude Towards Nature by Lily de Silva[……………………………………….]

Nature as Beautiful

The Buddha and his disciples regarded natural beauty as a source of great joy and aesthetic satisfaction. The saints who purged themselves of sensuous worldly pleasures responded to natural beauty with a detached sense of appreciation. The average poet looks at nature and derives inspiration mostly by the sentiments it evokes in his own heart; he becomes emotionally involved with nature. For instance, he may compare the sun's rays passing over the mountain tops to the blush on a sensitive face, he may see a tear in a dew drop, the lips of his beloved in a rose petal, etc. But the appreciation of the saint is quite different. He appreciates nature's beauty for its own sake and derives joy unsullied by sensuous associations and self-projected ideas. The simple spontaneous appreciation of nature's exquisite beauty is expressed by the Elder Mahakassapa in the following words:[60]Those upland glades delightful to the soul,Where the Kaveri spreads its wildering wreaths,Where sound the trumpet-calls of elephants:Those are the hills where my soul delights.

Fair uplands rain-refreshed, and resonantWith crested creatures' cries antiphonal,Lone heights where silent Rishis oft resort:Those are the hills wherein my soul delights.Again the poem of Kaludayi, inviting the Buddha to visit Kapilavatthu, contains a beautiful description of spring:[61]Now crimson glow the trees, dear Lord, and castTheir ancient foliage in quest of fruit,Like crests of flame they shine irradiantAnd rich in hope, great Hero, is the hour.

Verdure and blossom-time in every treeWherever we look delightful to the eye,And every quarter breathing fragrant airs,While petals falling, yearning comes fruit:It is time, O Hero, that we set out hence.The long poem of Talaputa is a fascinating soliloquy.[62] His religious aspirations are beautifully blended with a profound knowledge of the teachings of the Buddha against the background of a sylvan resort. Many more poems could be cited for saintly appreciation of nature, but it is not necessary to burden the essay with any more quotations. Suffice it to know that the saints, too, were sensitive to the beauties and harmony of nature and that their appreciation is colored by spontaneity, simplicity, and a non-sensuous spirituality.http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... itude.html

with mettaChris

---The trouble is that you think you have time------Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe------It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---

He who, having cast off likes and dislikes, has become tranquil, is rid of the substrata of existence and like a hero has conquered all the worlds — him do I call a holy man.

[Just a note: When you quote a text do cite from whence it came.] So, we cannot like our mothers, our kids, our beliefs . . . .

"Then there is the case where I see a wilderness monk who receives robes, alms food, shelter, & medicinal requisites for curing the sick. Fending off those gains, offerings, & fame, he doesn't neglect seclusion, doesn't neglect isolated forest & wilderness dwellings. And so I am pleased with that monk's wilderness-dwelling.

"But when I am traveling along a road and see no one in front or behind me, at that time I have my ease, even when urinating & defecating." -- A iv 340

It seems that the Buddha liked to not have not do these things with an audience, and he certainly was pleased with certain things.

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723

>> Do you see a man wise[enlightened/ariya]in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<<-- Proverbs 26:12

tiltbillings wrote:[Just a note: When you quote a text do cite from whence it came.]

My apologies - Dhammapada 26:36.

So, we cannot like our mothers, our kids, our beliefs . . . .

There's a difference between liking, which is based in attachment, and approving of, enjoying, or otherwise appreciating. I think it's obvious that the OP is discussing how to avoid the "liking" that comes from delighting in the sensual pleasure of nature's beauty, which is definitely a form of attachment.

Gain and loss, status and disgrace, censure and praise, pleasure and pain:these conditions among human beings are inconstant,impermanent, subject to change.

tiltbillings wrote:[Just a note: When you quote a text do cite from whence it came.]

My apologies - Dhammapada 26:36.

So, we cannot like our mothers, our kids, our beliefs . . . .

There's a difference between liking, which is based in attachment, and approving of, enjoying, or otherwise appreciating. I think it's obvious that the OP is discussing how to avoid the "liking" that comes from delighting in the sensual pleasure of nature's beauty, which is definitely a form of attachment.

It is an interesting balancing act. Can we get to a point where we can delight in something without becoming attached to it? And until then?

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723

>> Do you see a man wise[enlightened/ariya]in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<<-- Proverbs 26:12

befriend wrote:how do we enjoy the sights of nature without liking coming up?

Sounds like you're being troubled with aversion to "liking". Just be mindful of the Sukka and how it arises.

Therein what are 'six (types of) disrespect'? One dwells without respect, without deference for the Teacher; one dwells without respect, without deference for the Teaching; one dwells without respect, without deference for the Order; one dwells without respect, without deference for the precepts; one dwells without respect, without deference for heedfulness; one dwells without respect, without deference for hospitality. These are six (types of) disrespect.:Vibh 945

Hi, everyone,This discussion is beginning to look like one that needs real care with words and their translations: liking/disliking vs attachment/aversion/equanimity vs appreciation/enjoyment; etc. I like (agree with ) what Cooran posted above, especially the bits I have highlighted here:

cooran wrote:The Buddhist Attitude Towards Nature by Lily de Silva

Nature as Beautiful

The Buddha and his disciples regarded natural beauty as a source of great joy and aesthetic satisfaction. The saints who purged themselves of sensuous worldly pleasures responded to natural beauty with a detached sense of appreciation. The average poet looks at nature and derives inspiration mostly by the sentiments it evokes in his own heart; he becomes emotionally involved with nature. For instance, he may compare the sun's rays passing over the mountain tops to the blush on a sensitive face, he may see a tear in a dew drop, the lips of his beloved in a rose petal, etc. But the appreciation of the saint is quite different. He appreciates nature's beauty for its own sake and derives joy unsullied by sensuous associations and self-projected ideas. The simple spontaneous appreciation of nature's exquisite beauty is expressed by the Elder Mahakassapa...

Again the poem of Kaludayi, inviting the Buddha to visit Kapilavatthu, contains a beautiful description of spring:[61]Now crimson glow the trees, dear Lord, and castTheir ancient foliage in quest of fruit,Like crests of flame they shine irradiantAnd rich in hope, great Hero, is the hour....The long poem of Talaputa is a fascinating soliloquy.[62] His religious aspirations are beautifully blended with a profound knowledge of the teachings of the Buddha against the background of a sylvan resort. Many more poems could be cited for saintly appreciation of nature, but it is not necessary to burden the essay with any more quotations. Suffice it to know that the saints, too, were sensitive to the beauties and harmony of nature and that their appreciation is colored by spontaneity, simplicity, and a non-sensuous spirituality.http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... itude.html

I will have to look up 'The long poem of Talaputa' - it sounds like my kind of thing.

In my understanding, attachment or clinging, not enjoyment per se, is the problem. If we can enjoy something but happily let it go when it ceases or when we move on, it won't entail suffering. Rather, it will make us happier people and therefore more likely to be nice to ourselves and to others.As Tilt said, it's a balancing act.

By seeing the drawbacks of pleasant sensation (sukha vedana) we eventually let go of the mind's tendency to give rise to craving for pleasant sensation. Craving is the cause of suffering and ignorance about the true nature (no pun intended) of pleasant sensations give rise to craving- so we must understand and explore this phenomena and eventually abandon (pahana) it. Delight (nandi) is another defilement to be abandoned. However the arahanths cannot abandon pleasant sensation as it is part of the five aggregates which stay with them until death. So they continue to experience pleasant sensations. They are said to go into jhana for 'pleasant abiding' or do right contemplation (yonisomanasikara) for the same reasons. When there is no fear of craving arising again they can enjoy this as much as they want. The Buddha speaking of monks says that for non-returners and arahanths there is no danger in it for them to eat good tasting food, referring to them having removed all sensual craving.